Family Matters Alternates
by lucky47
Summary: Alternate beginning to chapter 36


A/N: Alright, so I decided to do it. It was like a 50/50 split so I figure, if you don't want to read it, that's okay but here it is anyway, lol =) This is the alternate scene that's been rewritten so many times only to not be used at all. No matter how much I liked this scene, I think I chose the right way.

Enjoy!

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Chapter 36

{Bryce's Hotel}

The higher the elevator rose, the more Sarah's anxiety grew. She hadn't wanted to have dinner in close quarters with Bryce. Eating in a restaurant was one thing, but in his hotel room seemed a little more intimate than she wanted. The only reason she'd chosen to do so was because Bryce had told her he already ordered from room service, thinking she'd decided not to come. He also said it'd just gotten there and they had her favorite to order so he'd call down. Thinking it somewhat unfair that she'd taken so long to respond, she said it would be fine, but that she couldn't stay long. No sense in giving him the wrong impression.

The elevator dinged and she walked down the hall, the apprehension growing by the second almost to the point of botching the whole thing. _Oh, you're being ridiculous. Chuck said it was fine and you won't be staying long. Bryce is a friend._

Finally getting to the door, she knocked lightly, hearing a faint, _come in,_ following. He'd left the door latch in the way so she could get in. Sarah took one last look down the hall at the elevator and sighed, gaining her resolve to push open the door. She stepped inside the suite, not taking a good look around, instead focusing on swinging the door latch back the other way so the door could shut securely. When the latch clicked, Sarah turned around slowly. What she saw made her brow furrow with confusion.

The room's lighting had been dimmed. It was much darker in here than it had been in the hall. Across the room, next to the floor to ceiling window, Sarah saw a candlelit table with a single red rose placed in vase between them. One side already had food while the other- which she assumed had been meant to be 'her' side- sat empty, waiting for the food he'd called down for. Next to the table, on a rolling cart, a bottle of wine cooled in a flashy metal bucket. If she were a betting girl, she'd go all in on guessing that bottle of wine was a Chateau Margaux.

_Wrong,_ she thought as her eyes widened with clarity, _this is all wrong. If he comes out wearing a white dinner jacket-_

"Sarah."

The two syllables drew her from the appalling image before her. She turned simmering lethal eyes on her former partner but kept her mouth shut. He would really try the Montgomery on her? She hadn't even thought it was all that great at the farm, let alone now that she had Chuck with his simple yet grand gestures of romance. Old worn out tricks . . . seriously, he couldn't have thought to be more original? Neither way would have ever worked but a little effort, Bryce, come on. If Bryce saw any trace of anger, he didn't comment, nor did any cracks appear in his armor and Sarah forced her face to remain unemotional while trying to wrap her mind around the situation.

Bryce did keep his distance, waiting for her to accept the expected end to this situation. All he had to do was convince her that next to him was where she belonged. "Sarah, you know we've been partners for a long time. And we're so good together. I've missed us." He paused to see if she would jump in, saying she felt the same. But she said nothing, only staring at him in that impassive way she had. "We could be again. Saving the world has its merits."

Yeah, she knew exactly what merits he'd been speaking of. After everything with Chuck, though, an adrenaline fueled sexual release would be far, _far_ less than satisfying. Going backwards was not an option and there was no convincing her otherwise. Mediocre could not replace indescribable.

"I know you've been on this assignment for a long time, and it's easy to get caught up, for the lines to blur, but, Sarah, this isn't where you're meant to be. You're a spy. It's who you are. The world needs you to save it and you need the world to save. What happens when you realize that five years down the road? It's wrong for you to be here."

_What would you know about what I need?_ she wanted to shout, but couldn' had been completely stupefied into silence, unable to form any words of reject. She drowned out the sound of his voice, not wanting to hear any of what he said. As if being lifted into an out of body experience, Sarah imagined herself moving to the wall and repeatedly banging her head into it, questioning her sanity.

_How did you not see this coming? Where did our signals get crossed? Why had you agreed to this again? Does he really think we're still partners? After everything? That's absurd._

"It's wrong for you to string Chuck along," Bryce said, continuing his one-sided conversation. "He's not like us. He believes in true love. What happens to him when you figure out that you can't give him that? That you can't stay here? What happens to him when your sense of duty pushes away everything else and you leave?"

Sarah let out a mental huff of disbelief. Bryce had no idea what he was saying. It was her sense of duty that had to overcome Chuck, not the other way round, and Chuck was too big a part of her life for it to have a chance at becoming number one ever again.

"Come on, Sarah, we both know you're future isn't here. Even Chuck knows it regardless of if he believes it now or not. Why do think he's so insecure? It's inevitable that you're going to leave him so you should be kind enough to do it now before it's too late."

This sounded vaguely like a conversation she'd had with herself not too long ago, only now she already knew the outcome and it wouldn't take hours of aimless driving, a walk on the beach, and a talk with a surprisingly perceptive police officer to come to it. The only thing Bryce's attempt had managed to do was make her angry- angry towards him, towards herself, towards everything. It grew like an expanding balloon, ready to pop at a moments notice. So lost in her own mind, trying to sort through the madness, it wasn't until Bryce stood in front of her, leaning toward her with his eyes slipping shut, that she could respond. With widening eyes, her fist slammed into the side of his nose, a loud crack following.

Well, she was never good with words anyway.

"Aurhh," Bryce groaned as his eyes sprung open in pain and surprise, his hands moving for his face.

Sarah grabbed one of his arms, wrenching it around behind him, forcefully switching places with him. The second blow to his face left a smear of blood along the door. Running off pure instinct, she shoved his arm tighter almost to the point of breaking his wrist or dislocating his shoulder. How had he gone to from talking to trying to kiss her? Just as Sarah opened her mouth to speak, a shrill, loud ring pierced the room. Knowing that sound meant one thing, all the fight left her and she let go, allowing Bryce to lean against the door unhindered. For some semblance of privacy, she stepped further into the hotel room.

"Hello? Dr. Williams?" Her voice sounded slightly frantic and she tried to keep it down so Bryce wouldn't focus on her. With any luck, he'd be in too much pain to notice her.

Beyond the throbbing in his head, Bryce could hear Sarah talking into her phone. The word doctor had piqued his interest and he fought to clear the cobwebs covering his mind. _Why would a doctor be calling her?_ he wondered, watching Sarah's face pale even further at whatever had been said on the other line. Apparently, it had not been good news. He'd never seen Sarah look so horror-struck before.

"What?" she asked shakingly, "but I was just there, she wa- she was fine- . . . ye- no- ye-yes, I- I understand . . . . I'll be there in ten minutes." She hung up the phone and shoved it in her pocket, turning to face the door. Bryce had slumped against it blocking her exit. Sarah turned away, reeling in her anger, briefly thinking she may have overreacted but then thought nothing more of it. There wasn't enough time to finish this, nor did she have any inclination to do so. Heading for the table, she grabbed the bottle of wine- oh, look at that? Chateau Margaux- and threw it against the wall, disappointed when it didn't break but satisfied with the BANG!

Taking a handful of ice from the bucket, she covered it with a napkin while walking to Bryce. Kneeling down, she shoved it hard against his nose, enjoying his groan and wince of protest. "Get up!" she commanded, putting his hands over the bundle of ice.

"I think you broke my nose," he said stuffily while Sarah yanked him to his feet.

"Yeah," she said, unremorseful, "and if you get blood on my car, it won't be the only thing broken." She pushed him out the door first, half-dragging him toward the elevator. The least she could do is take him to get it reset at the hospital. She was going there anyway. Chuck might actually be proud of her for doing something nice for Bryce even though Bryce didn't deserve it. The bell chimed and the doors slid open, revealing a food service cart with Sarah's dinner covered by steamed crystal.

"Really, Bryce?" she said after waiting for the attendant to clear the elevator so she could push Bryce inside. "Mushroom stroganoff? Not my favorite." With a roll of her eyes, she pressed the button to the ground floor. Mushrooms were about a half a step away from an olive texturally and that's just wrong. She could do mushrooms sometimes but not always. _At least he got the Italian part right. _

As the elevator descended, Sarah felt her spirits go with it. They got to the car, no other words spoken between them. Perhaps he'd finally gotten it through his thick skull that they weren't ever going to happen again. His being deliberately obtuse pissed her off to no end and what ever minor tendrils that held their friendship together had been cut loose. It was now official. She wanted no part of Bryce Larkin in her life.


End file.
